Itanagar Police Register FIR Against “Artist” Kon Waii Son for Beheading Chicken & Drinking the Bird’s Blood During a Replay India Tour Live Performance

After being alerted to a video showing so-called artist Kon Waii Son publicly killing a chicken by slitting the bird’s throat and then drinking the animal’s blood during a Replay India Tour live performance in Itanagar, PETA India worked with Itanagar Police to get a first information report (FIR) registered. The FIR has been registered under section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 11 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, against Kon Waii Son.

PETA India recommends that perpetrators of animal abuse undergo psychiatric evaluation and receive counselling, as abusing animals indicates a deep psychological disturbance. Research shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals are often repeat offenders who move on to hurting other animals, including humans. A study published in Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal states, “Those who engage in cruelty to animals were [three] times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug/substance abuse.”

PETA India has long campaigned to strengthen the PCA Act, 1960, which contains outdated, inadequate penalties, such as a maximum fine of only Rs 50 for convicted first-time offenders (although the BNS, 2023, which has now replaced the IPC, prescribes stronger punishments). In a proposal sent to the central government regarding an amendment to the PCA Act, PETA India has recommended significantly increasing penalties for cruelty to animals.